Unlucky 13
by koopa2pa
Summary: Mario and 12 friends have been invited to compete on a gameshow.  What none of them know is that the show is a sham!  One of the "contestants" has set up this whole scheme to take out their "friends."  Rated T for character death and it's a horror story.
1. Meeting and Mystery

_**A/N: I decided to write a Mario horror fanfic since I know the characters pretty well, and I've just read "Death Cruise" by Kaiimi and am reading "Resident Koopa," also by Kaiimi. If you think my writing is good, his/hers is better. Enjoy! **_

_**And if for some reason, you already think you know who the murderer is, go ahead and review the story. But I like reviews anyway! So if there's any idea that you have, I might be willing to add it to my story. Criticism is also accepted and welcomed. **_

_**Oh yeah, and I don't own any of these characters. The characters the story's about have nothing to do with the plot. I just picked them because they're the first two who appear (and I don't want to give away the mystery).**_

_**Just as a note for reference, DK is Donkey Kong. I'll refer to Diddy Kong as Diddy or Diddy Kong.**_

_Characters: Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Wario, Waluigi, Bowser, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Yoshi, Birdo, Toad, Toadette_

Thirteen of the most famous members of the Mushroom Kingdom each received a strange letter one day. It read:

_Congratulations! You've been entered in a new game show, __Unlucky 13__! As a result, we have invited you and twelve others to this address:_

_1221 Independence Gulch, Isle Delfino_

_The winner of this contest will receive 1,000,000 gold coins!_

_Sincerely,_

_Shyster McGuy_

Intrigued, all thirteen decided to attend this game. What they didn't know was that everyone there knew them. And that one of them knew something that would spell death for most of them.

Mario and Peach had arrived together, in the royal carriage of course. With a peck on the cheek, Mario called out, "Thanks for the ride, Princess! I'll miss you!"

Peach replied, "Mario, I forgot to tell you! I'm on the show too!"

Mario responded, "Really? That's great! Double the chances we'll win!"

The couple turned around as they heard another car arrive at the address. The Wario Brothers hopped out of Wario's purple car, and immediately got into an argument with Mario.

Wario yelled, "Hey Mario! What're you doing here? Get off _my_ gameshow!"

Waluigi questioned, "Wait, your gameshow? This is _our _gameshow! We share the money!"

Mario responded angrily to Wario, "The Princess and I were invited too! So you can just shut up!"

To Peach, Mario whispered, "Of _course_ we had to be on the same show as these losers! We can't get a break, can we?"

The two groups stopped arguing when they noticed their friends, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong, arrive riding a rhinoceros. For some reason, none of the Piantas and Nokis seemed to care that there was now a rhinoceros rampaging about on their island.

Diddy Kong became excited as he gestured animatedly at his friends, holding the same letter they had received in his hands. DK nodded and pointed at the house behind the group.

It was either a large house or a small mansion. There were seven windows overlooking the group on the second floor, and no windows on the bottom floor. For some reason, the mansion seemed a little bit...imposing. Maybe it was because it seemed so old and...mysterious.

Their marveling at the mansion was interrupted by the arrival of a fourth group.

Toad and Toadette sheepishly exited a car.

Peach inquired, "Returning to the castle, I presume?"

Toad replied, "Well, you know, uh, we kind of heard you were, I guess, leaving, so we, um, just kind of figured that we could, go on, TOADETTE WOULD LIKE TO EXPLAIN!"

Toadette finished, "We heard you were leaving, and, kind of a funny story actually, decided that, when we got a letter inviting us to a gameshow, thought it would be a good idea to come along."

Peach responded, "Yes, but you were supposed to be in charge! I left my palace to you!"

Toad muttered, "Yeah, kind of a funny story…"

*At Peach's Castle*

Toadsworth: Hey—hey, I'm supposed to be in charge! That's—hey! How insolent! Respect me!

Guard: Nuh-uh! Peach left Toad and Toadette in charge! And they left! I can sit on the throne if I want!

*Back at 1221 Independence Gulch, Isle Delfino*

"And that's who we left in charge!" finished Toad.

Peach was about to fire the pair when another familiar couple arrived at the same mansion.

Birdo, riding on Yoshi's back, gripped the same letter each had received. In her nasally-sounding voice, Birdo communicated that they, too, were on the gameshow.

Yoshi did a little dance in happiness when he realized he would get the chance to compete against his friends for the million coins. Birdo quickly reminded him that that meant he would have to beat his friends as well.

Yoshi was disheartened, but became happier when he greeted the next couple who arrived at the mansion.

Luigi and Daisy arrived in a small card with the words "Just Married" written on the back. Luigi, still cheery from his wedding, politely greeted all of his friends.

Waluigi heckled him, asking, "Why are you still happy? Shut up! The wedding was a whole week ago!"

Luigi's delight soon turned to anger when he responded, "You'll never understand. Nobody will ever love you enough to marry you. You'll die cold and alone. So _you_ shut up."

Daisy interrupted the argument by inquiring, "There were supposed to be thirteen of us. Who's the last one?"

They soon got their answer as Bowser arrived in his Clown Car.

Bowser laughed. "Ha! I should'a guessed! Twelve losers to join me on this game show! I guess I'll just have to pick you off as I take the prize for myself!"

"Not gonna happen!" snapped Wario. "This prize is all but mine!"

"Whoa-whoa-whoa! Save the trash talk for later!" said a blue Shy Guy. "I'm Shyster McGuy, and I'll be your host for this game show! Don't you worry about a thing, I'll show you guys around this here mansion, and explain the rules!"

As the group followed him, Shyster turned around, shut the door, and locked it.

The small Shy Guy ran upstairs, quickly pursued by the group.

"So long, losers! To get out, you must find the key hidden somewhere in the Mansion. The first one out wins the game! I…_may_ be back!"

The Shy Guy then did something strange. He turned around, smashed his head into the wall, and fell to the floor.

While most of the group then went scrambling around for the key, Peach stayed behind. She put a hand to Shyster's forehead, and found it to be…wooden. "Hmm…That's strange!" she said to herself. She flipped him over, and found a compartment on the back of his head. Opening it, she found a small slip of paper. It read:

The key does not exist. If you're reading this, then you've either figured this out, or most of your friends are dead.

Peach shuddered. Most of her friends…dead? She had to tell them! As she whirled around to begin scouring the house for "contestants," she heard a sickening scream. Who was it?

Alive: Peach, 11 others

Dead: ?


	2. Tempers

Alive: Peach, 11 others

Dead: ?

Peach dashed out into the hall, tears beginning to form in her eyes. If only she had decided to stay home…she brushed by Waluigi as he dashed to see who was dead.

"Good, he's alive!" she thought. But then she realized that that only increased the likelihood that someone she really cared about, like Mario, was dead. Luckily, she noticed the plumber's red hat as she descended the stairs. The screams were coming from the lounge downstairs.

"NO! No No No No! It just…she can't be…" sputtered an angry Toad. "Where's Shyster? We need a medic!" By now everyone had arrived to the scene of Toadette's death. She had apparently activated some trap to activate by placing herself under a weak point in the roof. The result of the trap was that Toadette had been steamrolled by what used to be Thwomps.

"Um…Shyster, well, he doesn't exist." Peach said. "When you guys left, I checked up on Shyster. He…well, he was made of wood. He was just a puppet."

"What do you mean? No! We just talked to him! He's clearly playing a prank on you! Shyster! Where are you!" Toad cried, now hysterical.

The other survivors stayed deathly silent.

"Toad, I don't know how to say this, but I found this in a compartment. In his head." Peach replied.

"So…there's no key at all? Toadette died for nothing? I…I can't believe this." Toad responded.

Mario asked, "Let me see that, Toad."

Wario responded, "No way! I get to read it first!"

"SHUT UP! Toadette just died and you two are arguing over who gets to read a stupid note first? You disgust me. I'll just read it to you." Toad snarled.

He continued, "The key does not exist. If you're reading this, then you've either figured this out, or most of your friends are dead."

"We…weren't supposed to know…" DK murmured.

Birdo mused, "That means…that the murderer planned this out. More of us are going to die."

Daisy spoke up. "What I don't get is how the murderer is going to escape if there is no key. He or she must be here."

Diddy questioned, "Wait…where's Shyster? It's him! I know he's planned this out!"

Wario laughed. "Ha! It couldn't possibly have been him! He's made of wood! Leave him out of this!"

Luigi came to a sudden realization. "Bu-But we're all alone in here. Trapped with the murderer!"

"Luigi, don't you see! We're not trapped with the murderer! One of us _is_ the murderer!" Bowser exploded.

"Hmm…something about Shyster seems familiar…" Waluigi muttered. I don't know what it is…

Yoshi added, "Not to interrupt or anything, but what do we do now?"

Toad responded angrily. "Well, isn't it obvious? We find out who killed Toadette!"

Mario asked, "But where do we start? This is a huge mansion!"

"I think we should start with taking a closer look at Shyster. I can't shake the feeling that he's connected somehow…" Diddy stated.

"Sounds good." Toad responded, dripping with melancholy.

The group of twelve trudged back upstairs, heading to the last room, where Shyster McGuy had disappeared.

Upon arrival, Toad began to inspect the "body" of the Shy Guy.

"I…I can't believe that I bought that dumb story." He laughed cynically.

"What are you talking about, Toad?" Peach asked, a worried tone present in her voice.

"Oh, you of all people should know, _Princess_." Toad growled. "After all, I should've known it was you."

"What was me? What are you talking about?" Peach inquired.

"I don't think Toadette was the _only_ one you killed." Toad said, with a biting tone in his voice.

"I didn't kill Toadette!" she pleaded.

"I think you did. Right before you killed Shyster! You probably had him knock himself out, thinking we'd flee for the key, then 'disposed' of his body, and replaced it with this dummy!"

"No, I…I know it sounds unreasonable, but…" Peach sputtered.

"You monster!" shrieked Toad, rushing at the Princess in a poorly thought out attack.

"Stop it! This is madness!" cried Mario, separating his friend from his love. "You're jumping to conclusions! Let's just calm down, and we can figure out who did this. Attacking each other will only make us weaker."

"I refuse to be in the same room as her!" yelled Toad.

"Well then, you can take the room on the opposite end of the hall." Mario stated flatly. "You will leave our presence. When you're ready to apologize, we'll welcome you back."

"Sheesh, don't treat me like I'm five." Toad muttered, stomping off angrily. A door down the hall slammed, and silence once again pervaded the house.

"Let me take a look at Shyster…he seems familiar…" grunted Waluigi. "Oh Wario, you must remember this guy!"

"What do you mean?" questioned Wario.

"He's from your company! I remember him from a tour of your factory! You know, the one not too far from here…" Waluigi tapered off.

"Oh yeah! That guy! I remember him! Sometimes, you know, I kinda forget. I make so many knickknacks that I forgot all about this Shy Guy dummy!" Wario laughed.

Mario added, "I think we may be on to something, _Wario_."

"Wha-you think I'm-a the murderer? Based off what? That a doll came from my factory? Come on." Wario stated. "It's-a ridiculous!"

"Not when I didn't trust you in the first place." Mario argued. "Let's go, Princess. I think we should leave."

Peach thought, and responded, "I trust you Mario. You'd best be right about this."

The two left, and opened the door to a room slightly closer than Toad's.

"Well, now that they're gone…" Waluigi muttered.

"Yoshi want Wario gone!" Yoshi stated.

"Birdo agrees!" enunciated Birdo.

Nods of approval sent Wario away, and he took the room next farthest away.

Waluigi commented, "Someone should make sure he's not plotting. I'm the only one he'll let in, so I'll go room with him."

And with that, Waluigi was gone from the room. Noticing that everyone was leaving, Yoshi and Birdo decided to slowly leave the room, and set up bedding in their own room.

Bowser commented, "Good, now that that clown Waluigi is gone, I can say that I hate Wario without offending anyone."

Luigi responded, "Oh yeah? Well you didn't have to spend a summer camp with him! When we were kids, Mario and I were room-mates with Wario and Waluigi. Waluigi wasn't so bad, but it was impossible to wake up Wario in the morning! So we were always late for breakfast. Then, Wario ate all the food! So while we went hungry, Wario feasted, eating eggs, and bacon, and toast, and…I heard the food there was really good too!"

Bowser rubbed his stomach. "Oh, I'm hungry! It's time for dinner!" he realized. "Want to come with me to see if we can find any food?

Daisy responded, "Nah, I'm not hungry right now." She then went into the room next to Yoshi and Birdo's, and Luigi decided to follow her.

Before he left, Luigi asked, "If you find anything, bring me back something."

DK responded with a simple thumbs-up. The trio of DK, Diddy, and Bowser traversed downstairs to the kitchen.

Opening the refrigerator, Bowser found a simple note. It read:

Food in Basement.

Bowser sighed. Of course the food was in the basement! He turned to the two Kongs and said to them, "Let's go to the basement."

The trio quickly found the basement and descended the stairs.

They were shocked to hear a sort of snapping sound, and saw a large Silver Chomp rolling towards them. Bowser was hit with a dilemma: try to dodge or stop the Silver Chomp?

Seeing as Diddy and DK decided to stop the Silver Chomp with brute force, Bowser realized that he must contribute to their effort. He quickly found that it was a losing battle.

Bowser turned to leave, but saw that Diddy and DK didn't. Before the Silver Chomp flattened him, Bowser snagged Diddy away from the Silver Chomp. Diddy glared at Bowser in anger. He angrily asked, "Why didn't we save DK? We could've stopped the Silver Chomp!"

Bowser shook his head. DK could not have been saved. It was useless trying to explain this fact to Diddy, but Bowser decided to return to the basement to get food. Luckily, the trap wasn't reset, and Bowser was able to carry a few crates of food, along with Diddy's help, back to the kitchen.

On the way back upstairs, Bowser bumped into Yoshi. Yoshi exclaimed, "Yoshi hungry! Where food?"

Diddy gestured to the crates sadly. Picking one up, Yoshi waddled over to where the kitchen, where the other eight residents were. Bowser, Diddy, and DK had beaten them to the kitchen by only a few minutes, and the others had just found the note stating that the food was in the basement.

"Got food!" declared Yoshi gladly.

"Well, actually, you did nothing, Yoshi. Diddy, DK, and I got it from the basement." Bowser commented.

"Wait, where's DK?" Peach inquired.

"Bowser killed him!" Diddy angrily outburst.

"I-Is that true?" Luigi asked.

"No! I saved Diddy! DK and Diddy were about to be crushed by a Silver Chomp, and I pulled Diddy away from it. DK wasn't strong enough to stop it, and I didn't think the three of us combined were strong enough either." Bowser replied.

"I'm still suspicious." Said Mario.

"Well congratulations Mario, one of us killed our two friends and you're suspicious? Good job!" Diddy sarcastically remarked.

"I think it's time we start dinner!" Birdo quickly interrupted.

Toad sat by himself in a corner while the rest of the group began preparing a meal of spaghetti.

It was a quiet and uneventful dinner. Everyone sat with the one with whom they arrived.

Diddy walked up to Toad and began to try to talk to him. "You know, you can't pout forever. At some point, you've got to get over it."

Toad responded, "How can I try to calm down when I know that Peach killed my best friend? It's not possible!"

Diddy replied, "I had the same reaction with Bowser. It all seemed so obvious. Bowser had led us downstairs, and then didn't try to fight off the Silver Chomp. At first, I blamed him. But now, well…now I'm not sure what I would have done in his situation. I'm not saying he's innocent, but I think you've gotta give Peach a chance."

Toad dismissively remarked, "I'll forgive who I want! I'll decide who I think is the killer! And right now, I know it's Peach!"

At this point the conversation had become far too awkward for most of the people who were dining to stay. Soon, Diddy and Toad were the last two left.

Diddy responded, "But now, no matter what happens, you're a target. Everyone's fed up with you, so if you go down…it's not like there's an instant suspect. And if you're right, and Peach is the murderer, then I can guarantee you'd be next on my list. The only thing that might save you is if Peach decides to keep you around a little longer just so that people don't suspect her."

"Well you know what? I'm done with this. None of you will listen to me! I'm going to my room now, and if you try to follow me, I'll give people reason to believe I killed DK and Toadette. Ya hear?" An angry Toad responded.

The rest of the residents of 1221 Independence Gulch, Isle Delfino stayed in their rooms for the rest of the night. Well, all except for one. One person looked at the room around them. Waluigi, one of the people sleeping there, woke up as he heard the murderer tiptoe over

Noticing the knife in the murderer's hand, Waluigi tried to scream. The glint of a knife's blade was the last thing Waluigi as a clean slice was all it took to leave the thin man without a head. Snickering, the murderer carefully placed the head in the arms of the dead Waluigi. "Someone would be in for a surprise when they discover this." The murderer thought. The murderer then decided to go to bed and wait for the next day. Three down.

Alive: Mario, Peach, Luigi, Daisy, Bowser, Wario, Diddy, Yoshi, Birdo, Toad

Dead: Toadette, DK, Waluigi


	3. Going Bananas

**Vote for who you think the murderer is on my profile!**

Alive: Mario, Peach, Luigi, Daisy, Bowser, Wario, Diddy, Yoshi, Birdo, Toad

Dead: Toadette, DK, Waluigi

Wario awoke casually the next morning. Looking at Waluigi's body, memories flooded back into Wario's brain. Memories of when they were children together. Memories of the good times, and the bad. Like that one time when they had planted that stink bomb in the teacher's classroom… Waluigi had put the eggplant in the bomb to "claim it"…

"I have to move on." Wario muttered. "I can't live the rest of my life sad. Something's gotta give. I see what Toad's become…I don't wanna be him. I don't wanna be Toad, Waluigi!"

Wario looked at the blank eyes of Waluigi. There was a sense of panic that was written in Waluigi's eyes, but there was also some realization. Some recognition. A burst of understanding.

Wario picked up the head from Waluigi's arms, and heaved it against the wall.

"Why didn't I save you?" Wario asked. "Why are you dead? Why didn't they kill me too?" Waluigi's head hit the wall again after Wario threw it again.

Suddenly the door opened. Luigi looked at Wario, a look of annoyance displayed across his face.

Luigi asked, "What in the world-?" he stopped. Waluigi's severed head returned his gaze, and Luigi went stiff as a board.

"No, no, it's not what you think!" Wario shouted, tears forming in his eyes. He wiped them away. "Be strong." He thought to himself.

By that time a small crowd had gathered around Wario's room. To most of them, it seemed that Wario had knocked Luigi out. Yoshi stepped forward, and began to prod Luigi with his tongue.

The green-clad plumber broke out in laughter. "Ah—Yoshi! That tickles!" The group began to laugh with him. Wario spoke up. "Uh, it looks like we're missing one again."

Daisy replied, "That's _two_. Toad and Waluigi."

Wario began to scratch his head. "Yeah, about that…he's accounted for."

Mario questioned, "What do you mean, _accounted_ for? Is he off to kill Toad?"

Diddy angrily whirled around to Mario. "Don't even suggest that!" the tiny monkey exclaimed.

Luigi, finally coming to his senses, explained the situation so that Wario didn't have to. "You see, well, Waluigi's dead."

"…What?" Birdo asked.

"Yes. It's true. When I woke up this morning, I found Waluigi's head severed." Wario finally said it point-blank.

"I…I guess the murderer's finally gotten their hands dirty. Before it was through triggering traps, now… I don't get it." Birdo muttered.

"Is anyone else thinking what I'm thinking?" Luigi asked.

"Is it that you're hungry? I want Koopa Puffs." Bowser remarked.

Luigi patiently responded, "Who's the only one who was in the same room as Waluigi?"

Wario responded, "If you're going where I think you're going with this, then stop right there. The door was unlocked. Anyone else could have done this. So get off my case…second banana!"

"Banana?" Diddy asked.

"Who are you callin' second banana, Wario? At least I'm not the fat reject banana with a greasy peel in the dump!" Luigi retorted.

Diddy was lost in the banana metaphors at this point.

"Luigi, just pipe down! Wario's obviously upset about his brother, and you should be too!" Daisy exclaimed.

And then the group of nine walked downstairs, ready for breakfast.

*Toad's Room*

But there was a tenth person in the mansion. Toad. The one who had been "missing."

Toad had heard the scream of Waluigi the night before, but doing anything about it was out of the question. After all, what if it was all for nothing? And why would he want to go back to the group?

Toad muttered to himself, "Don't worry, Toadette. I'll get revenge." He couldn't let go of his suspicion of Peach. Why else would Shyster have "disappeared?" He clearly wasn't a puppet…where was the string?

Toad was all fed up. He decided to go to Bowser's bedroom, where the body of Shyster McGuy laid. Everyone else had taken another bedroom, leaving Bowser as the one with the dummy.

Toad knew Peach must have hidden the real Shyster somewhere. He decided to check under the bed.

Toad found some musty old advertisements for a GameCube Game. Luigi's Mansion? "What would Bowser want with Luigi's Mansion?" Toad asked curiously.

After a closer inspection, Toad found the word "Why?" written on each of the advertisements. He was perplexed. Clearly someone was questioning the events of Luigi's Mansion.

In addition, one of the ghosts was circled. Toad flipped one advertisement over, and found the following message:

Hello. I am the ghost who's circled. I hate King Boo. He should be called 'Tyrant King.' So I've decided to turn over a new leaf. I want to join your side. Together, maybe I can help you defeat Mario! You know that people like him more than you. He's the one who saves them. Well, maybe it doesn't have to be that way. The rivalry between you and King Boo is a battle King Boo will lose. _You_ are the one who can defeat Mario and King Boo.

Sincerely,

Blue Ghost

Toad thought nothing of the advertisements. It was probably just another ghost who was upset that King Boo had been defeated, and wanted to join Bowser's side.

Toad decided to check Bowser's closet. "Man, Bowser is sloppy!" Toad thought to himself.

Inside, there was a variety of half-eaten food, (including Koopa Puffs and a pepperoni pizza) some receipt for WarioWare, a GameCube with a couple of controllers, and a lot of other stuff that didn't look interesting to Toad. He couldn't find the real Shyster.

Disappointed, Toad looked once more at the wooden Shyster. He kicked it, and nothing happened. Saddened, Toad decided to return to his room. He was alone in this Mansion…even though there were other people here.

*Dining Hall*

Mario had reached a distressing conclusion while eating Lucky Shrooms. He remarked, "Bowser, I know we've been enemies for a while, but, I mean, can you even remember how it started? It's kind of sad that it might end here, in this dark mansion."

Bowser responded, "You _must_ remember how it began."

Mario sheepishly replied, "I was a baby at the time. It's kind of a long time ago too."

Luigi butted in, "Come on, Mario. Even _I_ know the story."

Bowser nodded. "When you were babies, Kamek knew that you'd be trouble, so I sent him after the stork carrying you. He only got Luigi."

"And I remember _that_ vividly. Eh, it's all old hat to me. I'll look for something for lunch. Bowser can tell it." Luigi remarked.

Yoshi commented, "Why did Mario have to fall on _Yoshi's_ back?"

Mario was still confused. "But why did he only get Luigi? I thought Kamek attacked the stork."

Bowser answered, "Well…Kamek never actually launched an attack. He saw you push Luigi out of the Stork's grasp."

Mario laughed. "I was an _evil _baby, wasn't I?"

And then the nine finished their lunches, and returned to their bedrooms.

*Yoshi and Birdo's room*

Yoshi complained, "Yoshi hungry!"

Birdo chidingly responded, "You ate an hour ago! Don't eat so much, and you won't get so fat!"

Yoshi jokingly said, "Hey, look who's talking!"

Birdo grew silent. Tears began to form on her face. She dashed out of the room, and down the hall.

Yoshi, feeling sorry for what he had said, turned to follow her.

Birdo found the bathroom at the end of the hall, and locked herself in.

Yoshi guiltily shouted, "Yoshi sorry! Yoshi no mean it!"

But Birdo said nothing.

Yoshi decided that it might be best to let her cry this one out. Remembering his hunger, Yoshi trudged downstairs.

**Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait! I'm planning on having someone die at the beginning of the next chapter, who do you think it will be? The person who dies has already been determined.**

Alive: Mario, Peach, Luigi, Daisy, Bowser, Wario, Diddy, Yoshi, Birdo, Toad

Dead: Toadette, DK, Waluigi


End file.
